


summer girl

by orphan_account



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-09 06:55:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20990678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "Just talk to a girl, will you? I know you've got game, you just have to go ahead and actually use it."Does she really look that desperate? For Steve fucking Harrington to swallow his pride and throw in a compliment just to give her dating advice?Nope. Definitely not. Steve is full of shit."Steve? You're full of shit."





	1. Chapter 1

It's a quiet day at the video store, and with Robin being the only other person available, that makes her the main subject of Steve Harrington's current anti-boredom strategy. Today's agenda: attacking the current state of her dating life. 

"I'm just saying," he says, leaning against the counter to look at her in the eye, "if you want to meet someone you really gotta put yourself out there."

"Bold words from someone who hasn't got laid in months."

Steve throws his wiping rag at her and missed, because Robin's got excellent reflexes, thank you very much. "A big fat lie. And don't change the subject."

"What do you want me to do? Go to some bar and find someone to make eyes with?" she says. 

Steve, like the devil that he is, smirks. "That sounds like a brilliant idea, Buckley." 

Robin narrows her eyes. "I was joking." 

"I can come with you." Steve offers, as genuine and naive as an excitable family dog. 

"I said I was kidding. Besides, I'm not looking for any of that right now, really." 

Steve lets out an exasperated sigh. Since when did he get to do that, that's supposed to be reserved for her for each time he does something stupid. Last time she checked, he was the idiot in this relationship. 

"Just talk to a girl, will you? I know you've got game, you just have to go ahead and actually use it." 

Does she really look that desperate? For Steve fucking Harrington to swallow his pride and throw in a compliment just to give her dating advice?

Nope. Definitely not. Steve is full of shit. 

"Steve? You're full of shit."

........

Ever since the "incident" at the mall, Robin has avoided riding her bike alone at night. It's been weeks but now that the whole town knows Hawkins is actually fucked up this whole time, the saturated air of fear and panic doesn't really help with the trauma she's trying (and kind of failing) to brush off. So Steve drives her home. On Fridays, he drops her off to Mrs. Murphy's house for her tutoring job. She's teaching her daughter, Lily, some basic French (she could use the extra cash). Sometimes her mom comes to get her straight from work after an hour of trying to force out a French phrase from little Lilly's uncooperative tongue, but it's usually just Steve coming back for her. He doesn't mind. He'll never admit it, but he gets worried.

It makes people from school think they're together (gross) but it's a sacrifice she's willing to take. Besides, it's her last year before she's off to college. And she does like Steve. Not in _that _way obviously, but he's alright. He's a dumbass, but he tries. He _cares_. Though obviously not enough to tell her that he can't come to work today because his mom is home and she's making him run some errands, which means Robin can either walk to Mrs. Murphy's house or just call to tell her she couldn't make it this evening and then call her mom to stop by at the video store after work to come get her. 

She opts for the second option. 

"Oh, dear, definitely don't walk alone at this hour." Mrs. Murphy says worriedly. There's silence on the other line for five, six seconds, and then, "Wait, my niece has just arrived the other day. I can ask her to come get you! Yes, yes, that would work. And safer, too." 

"Mrs. Murphy, it's fine. I wouldn't want to bother your niece."

"Oh, nonsense!" she says with all the warm conviction of a kindly middle-aged mom. "I assure you it's no bother." 

"I-" 

"Just sit there and my niece will be there in no time." 

Mrs. Murphy hangs up with a cheery "see you, dear!" before Robin can protest. She sighs and starts packing her stuff, abandoning her prior plan to restack the classics section while waiting for her mom. 

.......

By the time a car pulls up in front of the video store, Robin has already closed down and is waiting outside. The only thing she knows about Mrs. Murphy's niece is that she lives with her dad in the city. She knows stereotypes are harmful and bullshit, but she can't help herself but expect a stuck-up city girl who thinks she is better than everyone else in this small shitty town to greet her. 

The girl that gets off the car is wearing a striped button down shirt and, despite the scant light, Robin can see that her hair is dyed pink. Not too bright that it looks fake and sickly but a pale shade that seems to be slowly fading back to blonde. 

Pink hair leans casually against her car. "Hi, are you Robin?" 

"The one and only." Robin blurts and internally cringes at herself because _what the fuck was that_. It sounds like something Steve would say, which is not only concerning but also not at all helpful at the moment. 

"I mean, yeah, I am." she quickly adds. "I'm Lily's tutor." 

Pink hair appraises her then, her eyes giving Robin a quick scanning which made Robin's chest feel tight for the briefest moment. 

"Huh, I thought you'd be older." 

"Yeah, I get that." Robin tells her.

"I mean, not that I-- it's just that I'm used to French teachers being, you know, old."

Robin shook her head. "I'm hardly a teacher."

"Well, you're gonna have to be 'cause Lily's waiting. Come on." 

Robin gets in the backseat. Pink hair gives her a curious stare when she did, her eyebrows slightly frowned like Robin's some peculiar being, but it was quickly gone when she gets inside the car herself.

Both of them are quiet for a few minutes with Robin trying not to ogle at the other girl's hair (she's not sure whether she likes it or not) and Pink hair driving through the mostly empty streets of Hawkins. 

"God, this place is like a fucking ghost town when it gets dark." she comments after a while. The way she says it though doesn't make it sound like an insult. It's like she's genuinely fascinated or at the very least kind of amused by how haunted Hawkins looks when after sundown. 

"Well, almost everyone's scared to be out and about at this hour. You know, conspiracies actually being real and shit." 

"That's reasonable." Pink hair chuckles. She turns to look at her for a half second and says, "My name's Jo by the way." 

"I'm Robin." 

"I know."

"Oh, right. Yeah. Cool." Robin nearly stammers. Jo gives her a quick glance again so she smiles and then scrunches up her face the moment Jo turns away. _Really, Buckley? _she thinks to herself. 

When they arrive, Mrs. Murphy, or just Janet, greets her with her usual mothering smile and hug. Robin gets a whiff of something delicious and hopes her stomach won't grumble at the reminder of food in the air. 

"Lily's inside her room, dear. She-" 

"Robin!" a high-pitched voice calls out. She looks up and finds Lily on top of the stairs. Robin waves at her and smiles. 

"Hey there, tiny."

Jo passes by Robin as she heads for the kitchen and smirks right at her along the way. "Good luck wrangling some French out of that fireball."

Robin smiles a little, trying to appear blasé. She heads upstairs and asks Lily if she's done with the work she left her with last week. 

She's definitely not gonna dwell on the image of Jo's smirking face just moments ago. Absolutely not. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey there. thanks for reading. hope you liked this fic cause i definitely had fun writing it. i'm working on the second chapter already so the next update probably won't be for long.


	2. Chapter 2

Robin can't stop thinking about her.

In her defense, Hawkins carried very little in the way of excitement, other than the fucked up stuff about supernatural beings, evil labs, and russians. So coming across tall pretty girls with pink hair wearing vintage clothes doesn't happen all the time. In fact, most people in this place are like paper cutouts of actual people. This town's a living breathing cliché, and Jo doesn't seem like a living breathing cliché of a city girl. 

That, or Robin simply gets infatuated by beautiful girls with mischievous smiles so damn easily.

"Buckley, were you even listening to me?" Steve snaps his finger in front of her face.

"Of course I was." she says. "You were complaining about how your mom made you her errand boy for the entire day yesterday."

"You make it sound like-"

"Like you're scared of your mother? Come on, Steve, that's nothing to be ashamed about."

Steve sighs. "So, your mom gave you a ride after work?" 

Suddenly, Robin feels herself blush and looks away from Steve, pretending to arrange the counter as if it needs more tidying up. "Uh, no. Janet's niece picked me up."

"She has a niece?"

Robin nods. "She's new in town. Just visiting Janet, I think." 

"Now why in the hell would someone visit Hawkins?" 

She actually knows why, Jo told her on the car ride to Robin's house (her mom had another late shift). But she just chuckles, hoping that would be the end of it and Steve would change the subject. She has a reputation to protect, and she knows despite how much of an idiot Steve is he can see right through her. He'll never shut up about it is he knew she-

The store's front door opens with a ring and they both look up. Robin's eyes widen. 

The first customer they've in this lazy Saturday. Not just a customer though, it's Jo. Joanne, as Janet would call her. Pink hair, pretty girl, smartass with an actual brain Jo. 

The entire car ride to Robin's house came back to her again in a quick succession of flashbacks while her mind simultaneously tries not to panic at the sight of her now in a leather jacket over a white shirt, denim shorts, and the nicest, genuinely kind smile she's ever seen in anyone's face. 

Somehow, she seems different from the girl who cracked witty jokes during dinner at the Murphy household, the girl who talked about visiting her aunt for the rest of the summer because Janet's freaking out over all the shit that's been going on in Hawkins and her husband is never home to help her not to freak out, the girl who asked Robin about her own life while she drove her home. Now, under the light filtering through the store's windows, she looks *softer* somehow. Perhaps it's because of the natural light that's illuminating her face this time, or it's because she sort of looks shy, though that couldn't be it. 

Steve, as usual, is the first to speak up. "Hello." 

Robin watches his posture change into something more uncaring and casual, signature Harrington, eyeing Jo with interest without being pervy. He clearly likes what he's seeing, not that she can blame him at all. 

"Hi." Jo spares Steve a brief glance before turning to her. "Hey, Robin."

"Hi, uh, what brings you here?" _Stupid_. 

Jo expression shifts to that slightly cocky smile of hers, pushing her hands inside her pockets. "Well, I wanted to check this place out. It was closed last night when I came to get you. I also was hoping you'd be here too."

"Cool." Robin says, trying not to grin too widely. What she really wanted to say though was _Really? You wanted to see me?_

"Wait, hold on." Steve glances between the two of them. "You two know each other?" 

"Kinda. We just met yesterday. My aunt Janet asked me to pick her up." She turns to Steve and looks at him, brows furrowing delicately. "So, you're Steve?" 

Steve runs a hand through his hair and Robin has to try so hard not to roll her eyes. "Yeah, that's me. Hope Buckley here hasn't been feeding you lies about me."

Jo's smile turns mischievous again and Robin's stomach leaps ever so briefly. "Well, from what I can tell so far she's been accurate in her description." 

"Oh yeah?" 

"All good things, don't worry." Jo says before she winks at Robin, looking at her like they share a secret. Truth is, Robin wasn't exactly generous in his description of Steve, and she can't help but let out a snort. 

"Anyway, I'm gonna look around." Jo says, still looking at her. That soft smile curves her mouth again and Robin offers one of her own. 

"Hope you find something you like." she tells her. 

Jo turns and starts trawling the aisles of the video store. When she gets far enough, Steve leans closer to Robin, a twinkle in his eye telling her exactly what he's about to say.

"You've got it bad, kid." 

"Shut up, I just met her." Robin rolls her eyes. "And Stop calling me kid like you're that older than me." 

"You don't like her?" Steve grins. "Not even a little?" 

"Alright, fine. A little. So what?" Robin hisses, hoping her voice is low enough. "So what if I think she's interesting and pretty?" 

"Robin, come on." Steve beams at her. "If you don't ask her out, I'm going to." 

"As if she'd be interested in you." Robin says, but beneath that what she's really saying is that she's never going to ask Jo about anything that could imply... _that_. She probably doesn't like girls. Worse, she probably thinks girls who likes girls are disgusting like most people do. 

...... 

"You got any plans after your shift?" Jo asks all of a sudden, rocking back and forth on her heels. Robin was about to hand Jo her change (she ended up picking a children's flick for Lily) and nearly froze. 

She pretends to think about it. "Um, I don't think so." 

"Well, I was wondering if you know any good place to eat around here? I don't really have anyone else to ask" she says, the corner of her mouth rising in a slight smirk, "and you seem pretty cool." 

"Uh..." 

Jo's smirk drops a little at her hesitation. "You can bring your friend if you want. And it's fine if you don't want to, really. No big deal." 

"No, I'd love to!" Robin blurts out and nearly winces at how overly enthusiastic she sounded. 

Jo lit up again. "Okay. Cool. So, I'll pick you up?"

"Yes. Same time as yesterday."

"Okay." Jo nods. "See you, then."

By the time Jo's car pulls away, Steve comes back from the storage room. He looks at her, then asks, "You alright?"

"I think Jo just asked me out."

......

While Steve is boyishly cackling and congratulatorily thumping her in the back, Robin takes in what just happened. And as her brain processes the situation, she realized two things: 

First, it's not going to be a date. It's purely platonic. Jo is new in town and Robin is the only person her age that she knows. Second, it's probably a terrible idea to contemplate anything other than "new girl looking for a friend to hang out and show her decent places to eat, as friends, platonically hanging out" in her mind. She must dispel any thoughts of Jo's sly smile and slightly flushed cheeks because there's no way in hell that she's flirting at Robin.

That's still going to be hard get rid of entirely, and she'll probably see right through Robin if she doesn't do anything about it.

Robin looks at Steve and an idea occurs to her.

"Steve?"

Steve clears his throat. "Yeah?"

"Remember how we've established that we're best friends?" 

"Yeah. You said we're stuck with each other, all that crap. Why?" 

"I'm gonna ask you a favor." She bit her lip. "I need you to come too."

"What? To your date with the hot city girl?" he says, eyebrows shooting up. "No way."

"It's not a..." Robin sighs. "She's just looking for a friend, okay? And I don't want to end up being a mess and get too obvious around her. But with you around..."

"So you need a buffer, not a wingman."

"Exactly."

"Okay, deal." Before Robin can throw her arms around him, he adds, "but _you're_ paying for the food."

She smacks him in the arm instead. 

**Author's Note:**

> please do leave a comment if you can! i'd love to hear what you think. or you can just gay out in the comments cause our girl robin is the BEST and she deserves a gf.


End file.
